Like a cat, my curiosity was well and truly aroused. This is a band that combines death metal with Arabic sounds, scales, and influences. It has been done before - Orphaned Land is a notable example - but Arkan seem to take it a step or two beyond.
Death metal storms into Morocco; crushing riffs meet traditional instruments like the mandola. The result blasts through the desert sandstorms. I just had to find out more.
In May 2005 Foued Moukid, former drummer for French dark metal band The Old Dead Tree, joined forces with singer/guitarist Abder Abdellahoum, ex- Dawn Of Decline. Between them they shared a passion for the combination of brutal metal and Arabian music and together they formed the Paris-based Arkan. To the mix they added the growls of Florent Jannier and Samir Ramila and Mus Elkamal on additional guitars.
I was a bit blinkered to the possibilities of such a combination. But northern Africa was historically bound to Europe through Phoenician traders with Rome’s Carthage on the north coast of Tunisia at its center, so why not do what those ancient travelers did centuries before and combine the music of both continents? Certainly the musics of, say, Morocco or Algeria, are full of tradition, atmosphere, and ambience. These traditions have long been plundered by European musicians who have successfully brought this rich heritage into the mainstream.
Can death metal do the same? Arkan went on a mission to find out and their debut album Hilal is the result. The answer? Well I learned recently that death metal is an all-consuming passion, a way of life, for its followers. If you are in that category then this album has to be explored.
One moment we are walking through a bustling market place with throngs of local traders, a scene that hasn’t changed much in centuries. The next, a huge mountainous riff shocks us back to the now.
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